Alcaraz corrects French Open umpire and gives up point due to rarely used rule
Carlos Alcaraz showed his class in Paris as he corrected an umpire during his match with Ben Shelton at the French Open - handing a point to his opponent after he breached the rules
Carlos Alcaraz displayed impressive sportsmanship as he corrected an umpire at the French Open - telling him to give his point to his opponent after breaching one of the rules of tennis.
The Spaniard, who is also the defending champion at Roland Garros, was up against American Ben Shelton. Alcaraz took the first set on a tiebreak and was serving in the opening game of the second set.
He produced an impressive net shot, but his American opponent responded with a sensational passing effort which looked destined to be a winner. Alcaraz threw himself at the ball, managing to return it as the crowd jumped up to applaud.
But the Grand Slam winner quickly corrected the umpire and informed him that he'd thrown his racquet at the ball to win the point. Rules state that a player must be in control of his racquet when he makes connection with the ball.
The umpire quickly informed the crowd that Alcaraz's honesty meant that his opponent was awarded the point with those inside the stadium acknowledging the classy gesture from the Spanish star.
Alcaraz eventually made it through to the French Open quarter-finals after a four-set win over Shelton. The 22-year-old claimed a 7-6 (10-8) 6-3 4-6 6-4 victory on Court Philippe Chatrier after three hours and 19 minutes.
After the win he said: "Honestly, today I fought against myself in the mind. I just tried to calm myself - in some moments I was mad. I was angry with myself, talking not good things. I'm happy that I didn't let that thought play against me. I tried to calm myself and tried to keep going."
Alcaraz produced his best match of the tournament thus far, but has dropped a set in each of his last three matches. However he was happy with his level on Sunday. "Every time we face each other I said we brought the level to the top," claimed Alcaraz.
"We entertained the people. He is a really powerful player. He can make any shots. I think we played really great tennis. Drops, coming to the net, big shots, and we stayed there the whole match. For me, it is great having Ben around, a great energy for tennis and for the people. I love watching him play."
Alcaraz will face another American, Tommy Paul, in the last eight after the 12th seed beat Australia's Alexei Popyrin 6-3 6-3 6-3. The Spaniard remains on course for a semi-final clash with Lorenzo Musetti having dodged the likes of Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev until the final.
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